A Petty Squabble
by iheartBL
Summary: She couldn't stand in her haven at the moment because being in Watchtower reminded her of him. And at this very moment, she wanted to purge all thoughts of him.


Disclaimer: I own nothing!

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A Petty Squabble

She brought the polystyrene cup towards her lips as she stared out into the lake, watching half heartedly as a few crisp speckled leaves were plucked from their respective branches and coerced onto the watery surface. It was better than watching paint dry, or watching the grass grow, but not better than playing "Big Sister". Not better at all. She couldn't stand in her haven at the moment because being in Watchtower reminded her of _him_. And at this very moment, she wanted to purge all thoughts of _him_.

She cringed as the lukewarm liquid made its way down her throat. Her brows knitted together as she held back the urge to chuck her cup of coffee into the lake, adding to the decorum that nature provided for the autumn season. She did not liter. Besides, that's what happened when her favorite drink was left unattended due to thoughts about a certain guy with a fetish for green leather. Damn Oliver Queen. Why did everything always lead back to him?

She let out a sigh, balancing the cup upon the wooden railing before folding her arms atop it as well. Her green orbs wandered over the water, watching as a fish scuttled by, causing a growing ripple among all the stillness. Nature was a good distraction. Not a great one, she thought as a yawn fled from her lips a moment later, but it was still a distraction. Besides, it was calming her mood, making her eyelids feel heavy, and reminding her brain that she hadn't slept a full eight hours in awhile. It was like a lullaby. A silent lullaby, but a lullaby never the less.

Catching her sleepy state, she stood up, reminding herself of the reason she was here. Not that this little excursion was exactly planned, but then again, she hadn't exactly considered on hating Oliver at the moment either. Shoving her hand into the pocket of her plaid coat, she brought forth a packet of peanuts. She'd had arguments with Oliver previously, and as strange as it sounded, the one thing that calmed her mood better than anything else, coffee being no exception, was the one thing that could potentially kill Oliver…or cause him to break out into hives. Hopefully, he carried around an Epi Pen.

"So, this is what the end result of a dramatic exit entails."

She jerked, waving her arms in the air in an animated fashion. So much for subtly. Unfortunately for her no littering rule, the polystyrene cup was caught in the chaos and was now tumbling towards the surface of the lake. Pouting, she watched as the lid disengaged from the cup and the dark liquid diffused into its aqueous environment. She wondered if the aquatic life would notice the taint of caffeine in their habitat. 'Blonde moment, Sullivan, pull yourself together,' she thought feebly. That wasn't the end of it either. Her bag of peanuts, which she was in the midst of opening, was spiraling towards the watery surface as well. She could see the salty nuts sprinkling the lake before drifting from her peripheral vision. At this very moment, Chloe could cry, as pathetic as it sounded.

"You have to get used to people sneaking up on you sooner or later, Sidekick."

Rolling her eyes, and giving herself a brief moment to recuperate from the sneak attack, Chloe replied, "Have you heard of the saying that silence is golden?"

"I'll stick to my own philosophy."

She frowned, knowing that as he uttered his viewpoint, he was scratching the back of his neck while his free hand remained nonchalantly tucked into the pocket of his jeans. Chloe felt him step directly behind her. However, it wasn't his footsteps that gave him away, but his scent. The woodsy smell incorporated with a hint of leather mingled with the expensive cologne he wore on a day to day base, which now lingered into the nippy chill of the autumn breeze. She had the sudden urge to lean back against his hard chest and take comfort in the familiarity of his smell, but her brain was winning over the battle with her heart at the moment. She was mad at him, really mad, and her tenacious persona wasn't letting her see beyond that.

"What're you doing here, Oliver?" Chloe asked, placing her hands around the wooden railing, if only to relieve the twitch coursing through her veins. Unfortunately, her voice was failing her. It lacked the effectiveness she was going for. Where was the anger, the firmness in her tone, the harshness? She was usually better at taking a stand; usually. Oliver Queen, physical attractiveness set aside, sure knew how to make the female population feel discombobulated.

"I thought I was looking for you?"

The slight tease in his voice made her want to hit him. 'Control yourself, Sullivan,' she instructed herself mentally.

The petite blonde let out a huff, but didn't say anything, so Oliver continued. "You ran off."

He always was eloquent, Chloe thought with a roll of her eyes. She felt his hand come to rest upon her shoulder. For a moment, Chloe gazed at it, from the corner of her eye, before turning her attention back to the water. It was amazing how nature could placate ones soul, even a soul as guarded as Chloe's. Of course, Oliver was slowly breaking the façade she had set up for herself. Watchtower just made that metaphorical wall more of a reality. Even Clark had trouble breaking through the hardness she'd set herself into. Oliver, however…How could she have let her guard down around him? Then again, she thought with a snort, she really didn't realize until it was too late. He was already under skin. "I ran off," Chloe affirmed, gripping the railing tighter.

Oliver frowned. He couldn't tell if she was mocking him or not. "But not before I saw that look on your face," he uttered in a cautious tone. He hated when Chloe was mad because he could never tell what she was thinking.

"That look," Chloe repeated with a scoff.

Grabbing her by the elbow, Oliver forced her to turn around. Staring straight at her, he asked, "What was with that look?"

"You claim to know me better than anyone else, you tell me?"

So much for the piercing stare having an affect on her, but at this point, he didn't really care what she was feeling. "Chloe, I'm not here to play games!"

His tone of voice made her flinch, but she didn't break the eye contact. Instead, she stared right back. Chloe knew she was being childish, but at this moment, she didn't really care either. She was tired of hiding how she truly felt; she was tired of being the bigger person. She was just tired. With Clark, she always had to put herself second, but with Oliver, she never ran the risk of coming off as selfish. Not once did he make her think that.

Besides, he stabbed heart. He took an arrow straight to it, and this time, she didn't see green, or his enticing brown eyes. She didn't see anything remotely pleasant. This was exactly why she didn't want any attachments. No strings. How hard was that to follow? Chloe bit her lip. She was wrong. Tess was wrong. What happened to the purpose? She wasn't supposed to get upset when he left. She was never supposed to get attached. Yet, she had. She'd fallen hard. Too hard.

Her eyes fell to the hand wrapped around her elbow. His grip was firm, but it didn't hurt. He was always gentle. Even the feeblest of his touches left a lingering sensation burning across her skin as if she had been zapped, or in Green Arrow's case, tasered. But even that thought wasn't enough to melt a smile to her lips.

Sensing her gaze, Oliver released his hold on her. She gripped the fabric of his coat, but only to steady herself, and before he had the chance to take a hold of her hand, she was standing erect, looking more and more like Watchtower…Chloe no where in sight.

His piercing stare, however, didn't waver, and she didn't expect it to. Both could be stubborn, both could be very stubborn. And as arrogant as Oliver was, it took an army of vigilantes to admit that he was wrong. From this perspective, this scenario didn't look as if it would be any different. Her brows knitted together as her profile took on rigidity. With an execution of breath, she said sharply, "How platonic were those messages between you and Canary?"

He felt the twitch in his brow, and from the look Chloe was giving off, he sensed that she knew she had hit a bulls-eye. Seeing his emails on display-on display for Chloe, he'd muttered the first thing that erupted from his mouth. Those emails were purely platonic. It was no lie. He and Dinah, they were friends. Chloe knew that. Although they may not have always trusted each other, they did now…or at least, he thought they did.

"Chloe…" He made an attempt to step forward, but she only stepped back, the railing biting into her back. If he made another step, he'd trap her, but making her feel uncomfortable was far from his mind. Even back then, he'd felt something for her. It may have taken awhile for it to completely surface, but his feelings for the petite blonde had always been there. Chloe was different from his previous girlfriends. With them, he and Chloe, that is, there were no secrets, an aspect that had proven deadly for both in the past. How could Chloe think he'd sacrifice everything their relationship stood for? She was his better half, the queen of his heart, and no one would ever take her place. Dropping his shoulders, he said, "I'm sorry for whatever I did."

His warm breath tickled her face as he executed his words. Even Chloe couldn't ignore the sincerity in his voice. She hated the sincerity at this point. This wasn't going her way at all. Oliver wasn't supposed to have the upper hand here, she was. She felt the metaphorical lump rise in her throat. It didn't stop her added sentence to the mess the two had situated into, however, and it didn't stop the pain either. She could feel the tears pounding behind her eyes, slowly sweeping to the surface with an excruciating sting. "You told me you loved me."

Oliver paused for the faintest moment. "I'm not sorry about that," he uttered without an ounce of hesitance. "I meant those eight letters, Chloe."

The way he enunciated her name just then, it made her melt. She could actually feel her shoulders slouching, and he could probably see the look on her face, the one that had swoon written all over it. Right now, Chloe loathed herself. Her defenses were failing. Oliver was better at breaching security than he thought. His face was changing too. There was a softness to his chiseled features, but just because someone was able to hack into her emotions, didn't mean she couldn't throw another firewall into the mix. So when Oliver bent down to capture her lips, she pulled back. Shaking her head, Chloe side stepped away from him. He had to grab the railing in order to regain his balance. "You stuttered like a blundering idiot when Dinah asked you if I was your girlfriend."

He let out a faint cough. "You heard that?" the tall blonde asked, scratching his head. His face twisted into a look of innocence, causing Chloe to merely roll her eyes.

"Don't…"

"Chloe," he stated, grabbing her by the elbow.

His voice was softer now, more soothing, that Chloe could once more feel her defenses peeling. With his index, he gently lifted her chin. The mere touch sent a jolt coursing through her veins. Curse him!

"That's because I didn't know how to define us…"

Maybe Oliver should've just learned to keep his mouth shut. "Really?" Chloe burst out with a steely expression, "because I thought the "I love you" to your "I love you" would have cleared that up."

"You're the one that didn't want any attachments."

She could see the twitch of annoyance taking over, and she didn't even have to play "Big Sister" in order to do so. She'd come to know each of his looks pretty well, and pretty soon, the annoyance would consume him, and they'd end up in another pointless banter. "And you agreed," Chloe argued, "I thought with your less than perfect track record, this is exactly what you'd want." Oliver flinched slightly at her words, but it was barely memorable once the tautness set in. She'd hit a nerve, but it didn't make her smile. Chloe felt terrible. That was a low blow.

"You shouldn't assume," he grinded through his teeth.

"Ollie…"

"I knew exactly what I was getting myself into, Chloe. I knew a lack of relationship isn't what you'd want, because frankly, it's just not you. I knew I'd have to be in all the way…"

"But you went along with my scheme anyway?"

He could read the blatant smudges of confusion creeping over her features, and he couldn't help but smile. Nodding, Oliver said, "Let's just say you brought some buried feelings to the light the moment I taught you how to shoot an arrow."

Chloe's gaze wavered. She could remember that moment perfectly. The heat, the tension, and the emotion no amount of physicality could ever bring to justice. That day, she'd let go of her past, but she'd failed to listen to heart. She'd failed to really listen. Her heart was lingering in between the beats with a hidden agenda, but she'd refused to see it. She didn't want to see it then. Instead, she'd gone right along with Lois's advice. Ignoring her aching heart, she'd taken her fun instead. "I guess my heart wasn't the only one that was pierced that night."

"Absolutely not, Professor. You had me intrigued from day one."

"Intrigued?" Chloe repeated with a raise of her brows while pulling that trademark Chloe Sullivan smile, "All you left me was a wow."

That smile was somehow different when it was meant for him. "A really wow," he grinned cockily, causing her to giggle.

"You're still not off the hook, Oliver."

He paused a moment, appearing to think hard. "I didn't think so." Oliver took her hands and gave them a squeeze. "You've been through a lot."

"We've been through a lot," she corrected, smiling sweetly.

He eyed her with a glare. "Don't interrupt when I'm trying to make it up to you, Sullivan."

With a roll of her eyes, Chloe decreased the space between them. Her arms gingerly wrapped around his neck, forcing her to stand on the tip of her toes. Even with her heels, Oliver still managed to tower over her. "I'm sorry." Her warm breath tickled his dimpled chin as she spoke.

He smiled. Positioning his arms around her petite waist, he said, "How about some warm coffee?"

"I like where this is going."

"It'll be better than the stuff you tossed into the lake."

"It was an accident," she frowned with a crinkle of the nose, "and I'd prefer a cappuccino this time."

"Whatever it is you desire."

This time, she was ready for his kiss, but just as his lips brushed against hers, he moved to her neck. His lips grazed against the skin, the gentle touches causing her to giggle, before he planted a kiss to where her neck met her shoulder.

"At this rate, we'll never make it to the coffee," Chloe whispered as she pulled away from the legitimate kiss he'd contributed to.

"I'm not big on PDA," the taller blonde stated with a jerk of the head.

Chloe slid her hand down the length of his arm until she was able to get a hold of his hand. Lacing her fingers through his, she said, "Come along, Arrow, I can feel the lack of caffeine in my veins, and its making me antsy."

"This much coffee cannot be healthy."

"Don't interfere with my coffee addiction, Mr. Queen, if you want Watchtower to be your guardian angel while you parade around in green leather playing hero."

His arm wrapped around her waist as he led her up the path. Chloe was naïve to think that something, or rather, someone, could ever come between them. With them, everything was out in the open. No secrets. So even if a petty squabble managed to bubble up to the surface, they always had a way of finding their way back to each other. Ink, pen, and color Green Arrow may have married Black Canary, but the real Green Arrow, her Oliver, walking beside her in flesh and bone, was her destiny.

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A/N: 2,817 words later, this is what I ended up with. Sigh. In my original draft, this turned into a proposal. I didn't want it to go there, so I adjusted a few things. I'll save a Chlollie proposal for another time. In fact, I have an idea bubbling about that scenario. Anyhow, I still hope this was enjoyable. There were moments I wanted to toss my laptop out of my window.


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